According to the Industrial Relations Act, Chapter 88:01, every worker shall have the right to be a member of any trade union or any number of trade unions of his or her choice and the right not to be a member of any trade union or other organization of workers.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Unions march today

HUNDREDS of workers are expected to converge in Port-of-Spain today despite National Trade Union Center’s (NATUC) claim of intimidatory tactics by some employers to prevent workers from participating in the march.

NATUC 2nd vice-president Rudranath Indarsingh yesterday condemned statements by the Employers Consultative Association (ECA) that “shutting down” the country would not advance the labour movement’s cause.

The ECA in a statement said that while the association was “not blind” to rising energy costs, escalating food prices and crime, shutting down the country would not advance any solutions to those problems.

Indarsingh said the All Trinidad General Workers Trade Union (ATGWTU) of which he is president general received information that human resource officers were using ‘covert’ tactics to gain information about workers’ participation in the march.

He said the union had information that some companies had issued notices to workers that they would be subjected to ‘stringent measures’ should they attend today’s march. “Just this morning, I had to write a strongly-worded letter to one private sector company, telling them to withdraw their notice as this was against good industrial relations practices,” Indarsingh said.

President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs (FITUN) David Abdullah said today’s march will see workers parading in their respective trade union colors and will begin at Queen’s Park Savannah opposite Memorial Park from 8.30 am.